Hyphen Use

Two words brought together as a compound may be written separately, written as one word, or connected by hyphens. For example, three modern dictionaries all have the same listings for the following compounds:

hair stylist hairsplitter hair-raiser

Another modern dictionary, however, lists hairstylist, not hair stylist. Compounding is obviously in a state of flux, and authorities do not always agree in all cases, but the uses of the hyphen offered here are generally agreed upon.

Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun:

a one-way street chocolate-covered peanuts well-known author

However, when compound modifiers come after a noun, they are not hyphenated: